Flux
by TenshiNoAkuma
Summary: After the events of Ark Cradle, the members of Team 5D's are settling back into their ordinary lives without gods and conspiracies to keep them on their toes. With Yusei focusing on the future and Jack making plans he's refusing to share, Crow's left wondering how his life's become so quiet. A meandering story of friendship, post-WRGP blues and a repeat offender joining the NDP.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** This is a Crow-centric story about how he becomes a cop that happens to have a lot of bunch of slice of life things with the rest of the cast post-WRGP. It always just seemed like there's a story behind him joining the NDP that was never expanded on in canon (understandably). So this is me, expanding. I'm estimating 9 chapters.

Cop related things start properly in Chapter 3.

* * *

They manage to put together a small party after saving Neo Domino City from being destroyed by Ark Cradle. Just the Team 5D's in the garage of Poppo Time, having a moment of rest and relaxation under the evening stars.

Yusei wheels out Zora's old barbecue that hadn't seen much use until Yusei fixed the burner and ignition, and keeps himself busy cooking skewered chunks of vegetables and meat brought by the twins. Aki shares the best cake Crow's ever tasted - a disgustingly glorious cream and sponge combo that has him making obscene noises with every mouthful, "Did you make this? You made this!? This is _amazing_ , Aki!" - and he practically strongarms her into promising to bring another one next time she visits.

Jack's contribution is a lot of noise to cover the fact there should be another person there with them.

(What Jack _actually_ brings is far too many bottles of juice and soft drinks, and a platter fried calamari that Crow's certain costs three times more than what he'd be willing to pay. Crow lets it slide for once; it's a good occasion for overspending. And at least this way, Crow'll get to enjoy Jack's money before he fritters the rest of it away within a fortnight.)

Crow's addition is a six-pack of the strongest beer he could buy, brought out of the fridge once the team's settled fully into the night, stuffed with good food. Most of them are underage and most people - including Security - don't care about drinking laws, but Crow doesn't let Rua have any of the beer, as much as he tries to wheedle Crow into letting him have a taste.

" _Rua_ ," Ruka says in warning, because she's clearly the twin with sense.

"No." Crow agrees with her. "You're a good, law-abiding citizen of Neo Domino City." Crow holds the six-pack up high, out of Rua's reach. Rua looks like he's going to jump at him anyway. "You should stay that way." He palms off the drinks to Yusei - or Jack, Crow's not exactly looking - who he knows Rua hero worships too much to make an undignified grab for a bottle. "No rule breaking."

"But _Crow_!" Rua is acting exactly like his own kids, from the whining right down to the accusatory pointing. " _You're_ breaking the rules!"

Crow pretends he doesn't see Jack openly tossing Yusei the bottle opener, and Yusei offering Aki one of their beers. Is it really a good idea to give a Senator's daughter a drink? Then again, it's _Yusei_ , 'saviour of Neo Domino City', so he could probably get away with it.

"No buts." Crow puts his hands on his hips. He might've been a frequent law breaker, but he's not one for letting kids pick up his bad habits. "Do I need to tell you what happened the first time I had a beer?"

Ruka looks up from her cup of juice, showing actual interest in this conversational tangent. "What happened?"

Before Crow can answer the question, Jack cuts in from his spot leaning against the stairs' railings with a bark of amusement. "Crow got his idiot head marked by Security."

Crow throws his hands up in the air, exasperated. "Wow, Jack. Way to spoil the mystery!" Jack blatantly ignores him by tilting his head back and downing his drink.

"Ah, this story," Yusei says helpfully over the lip of his beer bottle, glass obscuring his smile.

"Please, continue." Aki's settled herself on the couch next to Ruka, her open drink cradled in her hands. "I'd like to hear this, too."

Both Rua and Ruka nod vigorously.

Well, with such an attentive audience, who is he to deny them?

Since the couch is fully occupied by Rua, Ruka, and Aki, Crow settles for taking up a standing position next to Jack and Yusei. "Alright, listen closely." He coughs into his hand and clears his throat. "A long, long time ago, when I was young and dumb, I left Martha's to go junkyard diving on my own." Crow jerks a thumb over his shoulder at Jack and Yusei. "Those guys had been living with her for a couple of years, but back then, Martha had only just started looking after me, so I didn't know her too well. I was so used to wandering by myself that I didn't think to let anyone know where I was going."

He doesn't see much need to tell the twins and Aki that he'd actually stormed off after an argument with Jack that escalated into Jack yelling at Crow for being rude and ungrateful to Martha - _'A King always shows respect to a lady!' 'I'm not some stupid king so I don't have to!_ ' - while Yusei tried and failed to calm them down.

"Whoa!" By this time, Rua's leaning forwards against the back of the couch, dangling his arms over the side. "Wasn't that really dangerous?"

"We used to hear all sorts of stories about Satellite," Ruka says by way of explanation, hands carefully folded on her lap. Smiling gently, she continues, "But it didn't seem so bad when we visited Martha-san before the bridge was built."

Crow scratches his head. The twins had visited? When...? They must've come with Yusei while he'd been away. He shrugs. "Martha's is great. It's a real nice place and it's pretty safe, especially for otherwise homeless kids." Crow smiles fondly. He can always count on there being a warm bed and food to fill his belly, no questions asked. "Most of the old Satellite wasn't like that, but it's not nearly as bad as City-folk make it out to be." Crow grins. "Then again, I was small and knew the place like the back of my hand, so I knew all the good hiding spots and gave bad guys the slip all the time. To me, Satellite wasn't a dangerous place at all."

Yusei nods. "People were poor, but we tried our hardest to live our lives as best we could. There were all sorts of people, just like anywhere else."

"Anyway, I came across a couple of guys who were laughing and carrying on. They were adults and they were drinking from these glass bottles, which was clearly something only adults do. I didn't realise it at that age, but I used to see people getting drunk all the time." Crow shakes his head. "But I was tired of being a kid, so I thought, 'today's the day I'm gonna be An Adult.' I walked right up to them and said," Crow pitches his voice higher to imitate his younger self, "'Can I have some?'"

Man, he sure got into a lot of trouble because he'd been curious and 'old enough' in his own kid opinion. Sometimes he wonders how he managed to survive this long.

"They must have been pretty wasted, 'cause they couldn't walk straight and were all," Crow acts out the part of a creepy drunkard, walking to the couch and leering at Rua, who yelps and hides behind the cushions, "'ha ha sure, kid, go nuts. Bet you don't have the stomach to keep it down.'" Laughing lightly, Crow gives Rua his space back, stretching out and putting his hands behind his head. "And you know me. I hate backing down from a challenge. So I snatched their beer and drank the entire bottle even though it tasted gross. Somehow, I managed to run off before they could beat me for it.

"I didn't want to go home just yet, so I wandered around some more. Eventually I came across a Security D-Wheel all by its lonesome. I looked left." Crow raises a hand to above his eyes, peering about the garage in exaggerated movements. "I looked right." Letting his hand drop to his side, he continues, "I waited to see if its owner was coming back. It was totally silent. There was no one around." Crow grins at the realisation dawning on the faces of his audience who don't already know the story. "I thought, 'there's no harm in taking it for a little spin, right?' The alcohol must've kicked in by that time, 'cause it seemed like a great idea. Stealing a Security D-Wheel? Nothing could _possibly_ go wrong."

"You really did that? You really stole a D-Wheel from Security?" Aki asks him, eyes wide, drink still untouched, "How old were you then?"

Crow rubs his chin, thinking. "A bit younger than Rua and Ruka. I think I was ten?" Probably. Yusei's the only one of them with official records populated with accurate information; Jack's is fabricated by Godwin and Crow's own record is based on details he made up about himself. Letting out a short huff of laughter, Crow continues, "My legs were too short to easily reach the footpegs and I could barely reach the handlebars. But," Crow jabs a thumb back at his chest, grinning wildly, "that didn't stop Crow-sama!"

"That was your first time on a D-Wheel, right?" Rua's practically bouncing in his seat in excitement, a huge grin on his face. "Were you any good?"

Thumping a fist on his chest, Crow proudly proclaims, "I was _awesome_ , of course! Ten year old me was flying through the air, breaking all the speed limits, riding the D-Wheel like a pro. I was all," Crow imitates the sound of a D-Wheel revving, _vroom vroom_ , "wheels screeching, blasting past rows and rows of kids cheering from the sidelines, 'you go, Crow!'" Crow closes his eyes and grins, as if recalling a fond memory. "I remember Security yelling, 'stop, in the name of the law!', as I weaved around them, dodging barricade after barricade-"

"He's _lying_ ," Jack interrupts, rolling his eyes dreadfully. "Don't let him take you for a fool."

"Hey!" Crow protests, eyes snapping open. Under his audience's dubious stares, he admits, chagrined, "Okay, okay, none of that actually happened... I think." It's a little shameful, but, "Honestly, everything after I got onto that D-Wheel is a big blank. I don't remember a thing about it; an entire bottle of beer was way too much for ten year old me. I barely even remember stealing the D-Wheel." He scratches the back of his neck, cheeks heating. "Security told me I crashed it into the gate of their Sattelite base. Delivered myself and the stolen D-Wheel straight to them like an early Christmas present."

"I remember that time," Yusei murmurs, just loud enough for everyone to hear over the laughter rippling through the garage. "We were all worried when you didn't come back for dinner. Jack and I looked for you for days." The corner of his lip curls into a smile as he looks at the trio gathered on the couch. "When we found Crow, Jack hit him in the face-"

"He deserved it," Jack defends, drawing himself up haughtily and folding his arms.

"-and refused to let Crow out of his sight for a month," Yusei finishes, an amused gleam to his eyes.

"Aw, that's so sweet," Ruka comments with a smile, Aki nodding agreeably, prompting Jack to look away with that wild eyed expression he gets when he can't decide if he should be embarrassed, angry, or both. Crow can't resist grinning and - because he's been too short to comfortably sling an arm over Jack's shoulders for _years_ \- bumping elbows with Jack amidst Aki's soft laughter and Rua's raucous guffaws at Jack's expense.

Crow stays silent on the less flattering parts of the story; no one needs to hear about how he'd screamed and wailed when they burned the criminal marker into his forehead, or how he'd cried in the corner of his cell afterwards, both from pain and the imagined disappointment on everyone's faces when they saw the yellow brand. He'd pictured Martha's kind face creasing into a frown before chasing him from the house - _"And don't you think about coming back!"_ \- and Jack turning away from him, arms crossed and defiant. And Yusei... Crow had imagined Yusei saying nothing at all, unable to look him in the eye. He'd been so afraid, back then. Afraid that he'd be alone again because of one stupid mistake that marked him for life.

It had been such a relief, getting punched and yelled at because Jack had been _worried_ \- not because Jack hated him - that Crow had started crying then and there, which had made Jack stand there, fist raised - "Stop crying. Please. _Crow._ You're messing up my shirt!" - before he slowly and awkwardly patted Crow on the back. And afterwards, Yusei had been the one to help Crow up off the dirt and wipe away his tears.

"We didn't care that Crow had a criminal marker," Yusei says in that earnest way of his, glancing over at Crow as if he could sense Crow's thoughts. "We were just glad he made it back in one piece."

With words like that, it's hard hold back a stupid smile from spreading across his face.

Jack ruins the moment by trading his earlier discomfort for a smug attitude. "Crow was so pleased Martha wasn't mad at him that he did all the chores for a _week_."

Crow elbows Jack in the ribs exactly when Jack raises his bottle to take a drink, receiving a noise of disgust as some of his beer spills onto his coat. "And that's why I haven't had a drop of alcohol since," Crow finishes with a grin. Luckily, Yusei only snorts and doesn't actually call him out on his blatant lie.

Jack sniffs disdainfully, scrubbing at the beer stain with a fierce frown. "Weak! You're allowing yourself to be ruled by one bad experience?"

Shrugging, he responds, "Alcohol's expensive, man." He can't afford to be frivolous with his pay checks, and he can't just 'liberate' bottles from Satellite drunks like he used to, so Jack's never seen him knock back a few.

They end up swapping stories of dumb stuff the older members of the team has done as kids. Rua's an eager listener, drinking in their stories and exclaiming at all the right places, while Ruka's quieter, though no less attentive, growing wide eyed at some of their more outrageous stunts. It takes a little cajoling, but Aki also shares some happy memories of duelling with her father when she'd been a child. Rua even manages to convince Jack to tell the story of what started the whole King thing. Probably because Crow's been replacing Jack's empty bottles of beer with full ones on the sly, knowing full well the King's tolerance is crap.

While the kids are preoccupied with Jack, Crow spots Yusei peeling away from the group without a word to anyone. Crow's about to join him - or drag him back to the party, he hasn't decided yet - when Aki beats him to it. Seeing the way they dip their heads, voices low in private conversation, Crow smiles and leaves them alone.

Instead, Crow puts the finishing touches on getting Jack right roaring drunk, which is a sight well worth the thunderous yelling in the morning - and the lack of thanks for carrying his drunk ass up to his room - when Jack finds out what Rua and Ruka drew on his face after he finally passed out on the couch.

"This is why you don't let friends get you drunk," Crow had stage whispered to the giggling twins, handing them the marker he uses to write on Blackbird Delivery parcels.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Next chapter: Flowers and dark glasses. A moment of quiet for those lost, and for those moving forwards towards a new future.

Thank you for reading, I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** (whispers: egao)

* * *

Saturday.

Though Crow always wakes with the sun, somehow, the light filtering through the windows isn't enough to convince him to get out of bed today. Not having to make any deliveries over the weekend isn't exactly motivating him to get up, either. Turning over, Crow pulls the covers around him, intending to return to sleep, before his gaze lands on the calendar on his bedside table.

A date - today's - is circled in red.

"It's that time already?" All desire to laze around instantly evaporates. Stretching, Crow hauls himself out of bed, reluctantly getting changed out of his sleep clothes and brushing his teeth. Splashing water on his face is enough to wake him up, and he ambles downstairs to find Jack already seated at the communal table, drinking instant coffee out of his teacup.

"You're late!" Jack says by way of greeting. "I've been waiting for breakfast."

 _Oh come on._ "Why do I have to make you breakfast? Can't you make it yourself?" A memory wafts to the front of his mind. Waking up to a burning smell. Putting out a kitchen fire. Scraping lumps of charcoal off one of their better pans. Crow cringes. "Actually, never mind. I'll do it." He vaults the stairs' railing and meanders over to the kitchen, putting on the apron with a sigh. "You're so demanding, you know that?"

Crow tunes out Jack's haughty reply with practised ease, rifling through their fridge. What do they even have anyway? The egg carton's looking a bit empty, and it looks like they're running short on fresh vegetables. Crow's brow creases when he comes across an unfamiliar package. Pulling it out, Crow reads the label. "Buten pork sausage? When did we get this?" Isn't this one of the pricy brands?

"It was a gift," Jacks voice cuts in from the other room. "Only the best in return for my aid."

Huh. _I guess Jack can be useful sometimes._

Crow doesn't bother checking the expiry; when you've eaten anything and everything in the old Satellite, you grow an iron stomach. Pork's kind of extra expensive, so Crow's not about to let it go to waste. Besides, Jack'll want his contribution to be noticed, so ignoring it isn't an option unless he wants to put up with a bunch of hint dropping all day.

So... sausages. Hm. If he uses the rest of the eggs, he can make some rolled scrambled eggs. Maybe he can use the last of the carrots in miso? And if he makes toast to go with that, that should be enough to last the morning. Yeah, he's definitely gonna need to do a food run later or they won't have anything for dinner.

Breakfast planned, Crow sets about cooking, humming tunelessly as he moves about their kitchen. It doesn't take him long to finish, setting aside a portion for Yusei and covering it with a lid so flies don't get in it. Bringing his and Jack's share to the table, Crow doesn't miss Jack's appreciative sniff after he's turned away to hang the apron back where it belongs.

Thankfully, breakfast is good enough to keep even the King quiet. In fact, Crow's the first one to speak after he's finished devouring all the food on his plate. "Whatever you did to get those sausages, could you do it again?" Crow looks forlornly at his empty plate, wishing it wasn't. "Those were amazing."

"I refuse! They were given by a little old lady." Jack turns up his nose at the prospect. "A king does not take advantage of the generosity of the elderly!"

 _Says the freeloader!_ "Do you even know how much Buten pork costs normally!?" Crow groans, and hopes these sausages don't get added to the growing list of food Jack is addicted to. He can't afford to keep feeding Jack what he wants on the money he makes! "You're right, though." Crow rocks on the back two legs of his chair, slurping the rest of his soup. "It wouldn't feel right bumming food off some grandma."

Since he's finished his breakfast first, Crow leaves the table to dump his dishes in the sink, splashing some water on his greasy plate and in his empty bowl before leaving them there alongside his cutlery; he'll wash up later. Instead, he rinses his hands, wipes them on his pants and strides out of the kitchen to pull the cover off Blackbird.

Jack looks up from his coffee. "Hm? You're going somewhere?"

"Yeah." He crouches and lifts the garage door, pushing it up all the way. "It's the first Saturday of the month, you know?"

Jack might be a real jerk sometimes, but Jack knows exactly what _that_ means. "I suppose even you're free to do what you want with your time," Jack concedes, taking another sip from his teacup as Crow hops onto Blackbird's seat.

"If Yusei's not up by the time you're done, put his share in the fridge, yeah?"

Jack just grunts, which Crow takes as agreement.

Crow slips on his helmet and releases Blackbird's stand, her engine roaring to life once his Duel Disk is slotted in. Revving unnecessarily - prompting an indignant shout from Zora - Crow grins and shoots out the garage like a bullet from a gun, wheels screeching on the pavement.

There's nothing like riding to put him in a good mood.

After zipping down three streets, Crow mentally plots a route from Neo Domino City to Satellite. Though it would be faster if he shopped in the City, Satellite businesses need the money more. There's still a bunch of places that are still kinda run down, and despite all the hardship that came with living in Satellite, Crow's proud to have lived through it, and he'll do what he can to support his home.

One run of the highways later, Crow pulls up a block away from the street markets and parks in one of the side alleys, engaging her stun module. Crow hasn't had to worry about Blackbird getting stolen for a long time, but he'd rather not make her an obvious target; people can still damage her frame once they figure out stealing her isn't a smart idea.

Crow makes an immediate beeline for a flower stall, lifting his arm in a lazy wave when he spots the shopkeeper. "Yo, Daisy!"

She immediately turns her head and shoots him a bright smile. "Hello! Ummm..." Daisy taps her cheek with a finger. "Crow, was it?"

Crow grins, sauntering over. " _Finally_ , you've got my name right. No more Ravens or Robins or some other bird." He shoots her an exasperated look. "Sheesh, it's only taken you a year!"

The girl blushes, looking down at the flowers she'd been arranging for her shop. "Um, well... My friends are big Duelling fans. They're still talking about how Team 5D's won the WRGP." She mumbles, "I, um. Didn't realise you were part of the team until now."

"Wow, so a guy's gotta win a major Duelling tournament before you'll remember his name?" Crow puts his hands on his hips. "Setting the bar kinda high, aren't you?"

Her expression immediately pinches as she protests. "No! I just..."

Crow laughs, waving a hand. "I'm just teasing, Daisy." He nods at the flowers on display. "Could I get a bunch?"

"Oh, yes! Just a moment." Daisy slips her flowers into a vase before she turns and disappears through the door leading to the shop's back room. Crow raises an eyebrow. He doesn't have to wait long before she returns with a bouquet wrapped in purple. He can't say he knows enough to name the pink, orange and yellow flowers, but they look good. "Here," she says with a smile, holding it out. "I knew you were coming, so I had one ready."

"Hey, thanks." Accepting the bouquet, Crow tucks it in the crook of one arm while he fishes out his roll of notes from his pockets. One day, he'll get a wallet. Pulling the appropriate amount of cash from the roll, he presses the notes into Daisy's waiting hand. "Keep the change."

She doesn't protest, nodding before curling her hand around the notes. "So, um, Crow?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"I've always wondered... Who are the flowers for?"

"These?" Crow glances down at the bouquet in his arm, a small smile crossing his face. Memories flicker to the front of his mind. The smiles and cheers of children when their electronics light up after hours of toil. Being allowed to ride Blackbird for the first time. Fragile hope that had slowly bloomed in place of the depression he'd harboured ever since he'd left Team Satisfaction. "They're for someone important."

"Huh?" Daisy tilts her head and taps a finger to her chin. "A sweetheart?"

Crow shakes his head, chuckling. "Oh no. Nothing like that. He gave my life meaning and direction when I was lost and confused. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for him. I owe him a lot." His gaze dips to the flowers clasped in his arm. "I think he would've been happy if could see Satellite now."

"Ah... I see. All this time, I thought..." She smiles, a soft expression that reaches all the way to her eyes. "I'm glad I can help, even a little bit." Daisy laughs, a quiet thing. "But now that you've said that, my friends are going to pester me so much for your number now."

Crow lets out a short bark of laughter. "Tell your friends I'm not interested unless they can handle my rowdy kids."

Daisy's mouth forms an 'o' of surprise. "Do you really have kids?"

Raising an eyebrow, he says, "What, you never read the articles on Team 5D's? They were all over the papers and magazines when the WRGP was going!" When she shakes her head, he continues with a wry grin, "You should ask your friends to give you a copy some time. Anyway," Crow raises his free hand in a lazy wave, "Thanks again for picking these out. I'll see you next time, Poppy."

Daisy's cheeks puff up. "That's _not_ my name!"

He runs away from the stall, laughing, before she can chase him with a broomstick.

Crow only slows to a leisurely trot once he reaches the side alley where he'd left Blackbird. He's about to stash the flowers in Blackbird's storage compartment when a familiar red D-Wheel pulls up on front of him. "Yusei!" he exclaims when his friend takes off his helmet and shakes out his hair into its usual spiky shape. What's he doing here? "Jack didn't eat your breakfast, did he?"

Yusei shakes his head. "I wasn't hungry. I'll eat later."

After he went to the effort of making him some? _This guy._ Crow sighs. He supposes a few more hours won't change anything if it's already cold. Anyway, "What's up?"

"You're going to see Pearson, right?" Crow looks up from bundling himself onto Blackbird - his arms full of flowers - straight into Yusei's earnest face. Crow's been doing this every month ever since Daedalus Bridge had been completed, but Yusei had never said anything until now. Yusei's expression is hard to read, even after Crow raises his eyebrow. "I'm coming with you."

Crow shrugs, grins, and says, "Only if you can keep up!" and doesn't ask Yusei why.

Together, they dodge traffic along the coastline and miraculously don't get picked up for it, slowing once they pass through the gates of Neo Domino's memorial site. Crow leads the way to Pearson's grave, the route memorised to the point he could probably navigate the memorial with his eyes shut. Once they pull up, Crow takes off his helmet and takes the bouquet of flowers from Blackbird's storage compartment. Yusei keeps his distance as Crow strides forwards.

It's a little weird doing this with an audience again, but he knows Yusei won't judge him for it.

Crow kneels by Pearson's grave, placing his bouquet of flowers on the marker. His fingers trace the engraved letters of Pearson's name, as if the action somehow makes Pearson's memory more real. There's no body under the headstone; what died in the old Satellite stayed in Satellite. The existence of the grave marker only exists because of Bolger, even though he'd been the one to kill their dear friend in the first place. As much as Crow wants to be angry at Bolger, the regret he'd seen in Bolger's eyes after their duel just makes him feel sorry for the guy instead. It's hard to look Bolger in the eye, knowing what he did, but Crow makes time to visit Bolger anyway; he's already had one friend die alone in prison.

"Hey," he begins, pressing his palm firmly against the warm stone. _Can you hear me, Pearson?_ "A whole lot's happened since the last time we talked. I don't know where to start." The whole deal with Yliaster and Ark Cradle and Z-one just exhausts him thinking about it. In the end, he supposes they're not things Pearson would want to hear about. "The kids are safe and smiling every day. You don't have to worry." Crow smiles, warmth curling in his chest. "They're doing well in school," ain't that a hoot? School had always seemed out of their reach, barely two years ago, "and they're having fun. It's hard, but they're doing their best." He rubs at the corner of his eye. "They have so much to look forward to, now. I wish you could see their happy smiles."

He rocks back onto his heels, lifting his hand from Pearson's gravestone. "Anyway, today I brought a friend. His name's Yusei. You remember last time he was here along with Jack, don't you?" When they'd first met, Crow hadn't heard of Pearson, but Pearson had heard of Team Satisfaction. Pearson had been a patient listener, and surprisingly non-judgemental for an adult. He'd accepted Crow's help, no questions asked. Pearson had really understood what it was like for a kid to grow up in Satellite. "You would've liked to meet Yusei. He ended up being the first to make a D-Wheel completely out of materials from Satellite, all on his own."

"I had friends helping me." Crow nearly jumps in surprise when he finds Yusei crouched beside him. When had he moved!? He hadn't heard his friend's approach at all.

"Sorry for not being able to meet you," Yusei says quietly, placing his hand on the gravestone. "From the way Crow spoke about you, I know he thought the world of you. Thank you for looking after him for us."

The heat instantly rises to Crow's cheeks. "Yusei..." he sputters.

Yusei either doesn't see his reaction, or pays it no attention, as he continues, "He's been trying hard. He must have been lost without you." Crow straightens, brow pinched at the odd addition from Yusei, openly peering at his friend. Yusei smiles, a muted sadness furrowing his brow. "But he'll be okay. You've been helping him move forward all this time, haven't you?"

Crow doesn't say anything about the pair of cracked, dark glasses gripped rightly in Yusei's right hand.

After a suitably long moment of silence, Crow straightens and shoots a two finger salute to the grave. "Later, Pearson. I'll visit again."

As he hops onto Blackbird, Crow watches Yusei dust off his knees and stand. "Hey, Yusei," he calls, leaning against one of Blackbird's arms, a hand resting on his helmet. "Want me to give you a yell next time I come 'round here?"

A pause, before Yusei slowly nods. "Yeah. Thanks." He tucks the glasses away into his jacket. "...That would be great."

"Cool, no problem." Crow slips on his helmet, activating the visor. "I'm gonna go for a food run. We're almost out of stuff that isn't cup ramen. You wanna tag along?"

"Sure."

They make it back to Satellite and the street markets without much incident, fitting in a quick duel along the way. Crow still can't beat Yusei, of course. But it doesn't stop him from grinning and bumping Yusei's fist afterwards.

Now that the morning's in full swing, the street markets are much livelier, with vendors calling their wares. Crow navigates the markets with practiced ease, mentally plotting a winding, but efficient route through the stores that'll get them everything they need until the next shopping run. It doesn't take long for the number of bags Crow's carrying to build up, and given the presence of an additional pair of hands, Crow wastes no time in turning Yusei into his obliging pack mule.

Hm. They probably have enough cup ramen to last another week, so he can wait for a possible sale later. He does have a little extra money this week, so maybe he can get something that's usually a little too pricy to have regularly. Ah, but he needs to save up for the kids' books for the next school year...

Crow catches Yusei's discomfited expression as he trails behind Crow, looking out of place. Both Jack and Yusei only buy instant junk they can get from street vendors, so he's not entirely surprised Yusei's a bit lost when it comes to stuff that's not wrapped in plastic and labelled. Still, it's not like him to be so fidgety. Eventually, Crow can't take it anymore and turns to flick Yusei in the forehead - "ow!" - before asking him, an eyebrow raised, "Do you have ants in your pants or something? What's gotten into you?"

"Ah. It's..." Yusei looks down. "I've been talking with Jeager."

"Huh? That clown? What for?"

He raises his head and looks Crow in the eyes, focused. "He's arranging for me to join M.I.D.S. so I can develop something to stop Momentum from going out of control like it did in Z-one's future."

"Oh, that's all?" Crow thumps Yusei heavily on the back with his free hand, sending Yusei stumbling forward a step. "Good for you, man!" He grins, pointing out a cut of beef for the butcher to weigh and wrap. "You'll finally be a respectable member of society."

"What we're already doing is respectable..." Yusei mumbles, before saying, more audibly, "I was a bit sceptical of the job offer..." Crow holds up a hand in a _say no more_ gesture; Jeager's not a bad guy, but he can be _such_ a weasel sometimes. Yusei looks a bit relieved at not having to explain and barrels on, a small smile spreading across his face. "Anyway, I had a good read of the contract. It looks solid. There's some flexibility in the working hours, but," Yusei's expression falls and he hunches, "It means I'm not going to be around as much. I hope that's okay."

Knowing Yusei's working habits, Crow won't be surprised if Yusei ends up unintentionally sleeping at the research lab.

Crow fishes in his pockets for his rolled up wad of cash as the butcher calculates his total. "You're gonna do it, right?"

"Yeah. I'm hopeful." There's a slow smile spreading across Yusei's face. "I have a few ideas."

 _More like a lot._ Crow can't quite keep the exasperated smile from his face. Somehow, the amount of paper in the garage has multiplied to the point Crow's wondering if they're breeding somehow. Aren't computers supposed to cut down on this sort of stuff?

He gives the butcher a smile and a wave as she bows - 'Thank you! Please come again!' - before he loops the additional plastic bag over his elbow. "I'm happy for you. Seriously." Crow looks over his shoulder at his friend. "I feel a lot better about the whole deal with Momentum, knowing you'll be at the wheel."

Yusei's smile is like the sun. "...Thanks, Crow."

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Next chapter: Offers. Changes that feel like separation, and doors to new pathways are opened.

I just really wanted to write a character who's a regular acquaintance, but doesn't know a thing about the main characters because they're not interested in duelling at all. But for reals, cop stuff starts next update. Thanks for reading!


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